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I’ve received several emails asking me about Toward and Away on the Matrix. My answer is always…

Toward = Toward stuff that you want like values (appetitives).

Away = Away from unwanted stuff like fear (aversives).

I referred to Toward and Away this way the very first time I drew the Matrix.

Why am I saying this? Because some people jump to the conclusion that it’s Toward and Away from values. As I said, this was never the case.


The matrix will not work that way. For example, look at “Seymour” below.

Based on reports I read about Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Based on reports I read about Philip Seymour Hoffman.

See the loops on the left side of the diagram?
They show moving away from unwanted pain, depression and then despair; nothing to do with moving away from values.

Doing away moves can be very workable, however.

If you see a bus coming at you, fear will show up inside of you and you will jump back and AWAY from the fear. This is a very workable away move.

Then again, one can get stuck in a loop of away moves (like Seymour). We’ve all been stuck to some extent some time in our life.

‘Nuff said.

Self-as-Context

The picture at the top of this post is one of my doodles about a workable diagram to explain Self-as-Context (SAC). Here it is again:

Self-as-Context

Self-as-Context

The matrixes represent Self-as-Content and Self-as-Process. When we are fused with the content of our thoughts, then we might say, “I am depressed,” or “I am happy.”

The matrixes with the squiggly lines represents Self-as-Process. I could have written, “I am noticing depression,” or “I am noticing happy.” However, those seemed cumbersome to write, so I just used the squiggly line to represent noticing that we process stuff like emotions, air, food, sensory information, etc.

Finally SAC is up at the top. That’s noticing the self as the context for this stuff to happen within (content and process and more) over time. This is getting at the “observer” self and we all talk about.

Again, I don’t know how workable the diagram is. Another will probably show up inside of me in the future and I will draw a new, more workable SAC diagram.

Be well,

Kevin